Huntington Students in Nutcracker with NYC Ballet Stars

Three young ballet dancers from the Huntington area will perform with New York City Ballet stars Brittany Pollack and Daniel Ulbricht in New York Dance Theatre’s 37th season of “The Nutcracker” under the direction of former New York City Ballet soloist Frank Ohman. Emma Brendel of Huntington, and Julianna Borsellino and Clara Upston of Greenlawn, are students at the Ohman School of Ballet in Commack and perform multiple roles in the production including children in the Party Scene, Toy Soldiers in the Battle Scene, a Snowflake, and confections in the Land of Sweets. There are four performances at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY - Saturday, December 15 and Sunday, December 16 at noon and 5 p.m. each day.

Ohman’s production is the largest Nutcracker on Long Island and the only one performed in the tradition of New York City Ballet’s Lincoln Center version. Special guest artists Brittany Pollack and Daniel Ulbricht of New York City Ballet return to perform as the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier. Mr. Ulbricht, a principal dancer at New York City Ballet has also taught students at the Ohman School of Ballet, a division of New York Dance Theatre, as a master class guest teacher and in his role as artistic director of the elite New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSA) ballet program in Saratoga Springs. Brittany Pollack was recently on Broadway as “Louise” in Carousel.

Through the years, Frank Ohman has created original dances and scenes which have been incorporated into the ballet and set his production apart from others on Long Island, but as a former student and soloist under George Balanchine he is one of a select few authorized to use the original pas de deux choreography of his mentor. Mr. Ohman will continue his tradition of playing the role of the grandfather in the party scene that opens the ballet. The role of Clara’s mysterious godfather Herr Drosselmeier will be played by former New York City Ballet soloist Robert Maiorano. In his early career, Maiorano was the first boy to play the role of Clara’s brother, Fritz, in New York City Ballet’s production (a role previously played by girls), and was one of the original Princes in Balanchine’s production in the late 1950s.

With the elegant Christmas Party Scene, the drama of the magical growing Christmas Tree, the Battle of the Toy Soldiers and Giant Mice, the live Snow Storm, and the brilliant dancing in the Land of the Sweets, “The Nutcracker” appeals to all ages. In all, a cast of 80 children, pre-professional and professional dancers will bring this classic story ballet to life on the stage of the John Cranford Adams Playhouse. The children’s roles are performed by students of the Frank Ohman School of Ballet in Commack, representing a variety of towns in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Tickets for this full production ballet are $42.00 and $32.00 (seniors and children 12 and under) available at www.ohmanballet.org or 631.462.0964.

About Frank Ohman

Frank Ohman is an internationally known dance professional. His critically acclaimed ballet career began with the San Francisco Ballet in 1959 and in 1962 he joined the New York City Ballet where he was a soloist for twenty-two years. During his distinguished performing career, Mr. Ohman appeared in leading and soloist roles in ballets of George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Frederic Ashton, Antony Tudor, David Lichine, John Taras, and Jacques d’Amboise. He partnered many of the world’s leading ballerinas including Maria Tallchief, Marjorie Tallchief, Melissa Hayden, Suzanne Farrell, Allegra Kent, Patricia McBride, Gelsey Kirkland, Cynthia Gregory, Carol Sumner, Kay Mazzo, and Suki Schorer. He has appeared with the New York City Ballet at the New York State Theater, Kennedy Center, Marinsky Theater, Bolshoi Theater, the White House, and Jacob’s Pillow.

Mr. Ohman has been a prolific choreographer, creating over two hundred original ballets, many of which have been performed by his New York Dance Theatre. He has choreographed for the Boston Ballet, Edmonton Ballet, Syracuse Ballet (where he was director), the Cassandra Ballet of Toledo, the Long Island Philharmonic, the Long Island Lyric Opera, the School of American Ballet workshop performance, American Movie Classics, the PAF Playhouse, the Adirondack’s Long Lake Performing Arts Camp, and Indiana University. He assisted in the re-staging of Balanchine’s “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” for the 1981 revival of “On Your Toes” and the 1986 New York City Ballet revival.

Mr. Ohman is currently directing his talents towards teaching, choreography and artistic direction. He has been a guest teacher at the Boston Ballet, the School of American Ballet, the St. Louis Ballet, and the National Dance Institute. In 2004, he was invited to be the guest Ballet Master of the Ballet Philippines where he spent three weeks sharing his knowledge and teaching the company in the style of George Balanchine.

When not teaching at the Ohman School of Ballet, guest teaching, choreographing or directing, Mr. Ohman enjoys painting and sculpting.

About the Frank Ohman School of Ballet

The Frank Ohman School of Ballet was founded in 1979 by Frank Ohman, former soloist at New York City Ballet (NYCB) and one of the few remaining direct links to the teaching of George Balanchine. Located in Commack, the school serves as a training ground for promising young dancers and offers aspiring students the opportunity to learn classical ballet in the tradition of George Balanchine. The school is a non-competition, non-recital school, focusing on proper classical ballet technique. A division of the New York Dance Theatre, Inc., the Ohman School has become an integral part of the company, and is one of the very few not-for-profit ballet schools in the region. It offers three studios with state-of-the art flooring to Balanchine specifications and a highly qualified teaching staff headed up by artistic director Frank Ohman.